The Lesson You Learn Over and Over

Some lessons we learn the hard way.

Whether it’s a close call that reminds us to always wear a seat belt or a dumb shortcut that lands us in serious trouble with our boss, we’ve all had those traumatic experiences when we learn a valuable lesson we never need to be reminded of again.

Other life lessons though, we have to be taught over and over (and sometimes over) again. Just this past week I found myself saying, “How many times do I have to learn this?!” Sound familiar?

For you, it could be any number of things, like remembering to keep your keys by the door so you aren’t late for work every morning. Or limiting your time on social media so it doesn’t suck you in and steal your life. (Guilty.)

For me, it’s several things. If I look back over my life, I see patterns and themes. Here’s one of the big ones: I have a tendency to believe that God has blessed me with more hours per week than the average human being.

Are you drowning in your life?

Every so often, I end up in “crisis mode” when I realize I am absolutely “drowning” in my life. I have no realistic sense of how much time I actually have available, and so I end up biting off more than I can chew.

I’m still not 100% sure of the root cause of this gluttonous filling of my calendar, but it’s something I’m trying to understand. Is it for prideful reasons that I feel the need to take ownership of so many things? Is it because of shame that I place pressure on myself to accomplish so much?

To be honest, it could be a little of both, but I think I’m starting to see the more prominent and sinister reason for my schedule overload–distraction.

It seems far too cliche to say, “if the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy,” but in this case, it doesn’t seem too far from the truth.

I’m in the process of launching a book, a book that feels incredibly timely for the Church today. A book my editor claims is going to “catch souls on fire.” A book that exposes the rampant and deceptive nature of the enemy of the Church. And yet, for some reason, I can hardly “find the time” to work on it. Coincidence? Not likely. This week, as I journaled about this very thing, my eyes were opened. Again.

The deception of the enemy is so crafty. Even those of us who write books about it fall prey to his snare.

This week, my personal challenge is to spend time every morning refocusing on the mission at hand in order to keep distractions from clouding my vision.

Not everything on our calendars has the same level of importance. But the only way we can know this is by asking the One who gives us every minute of our lives how He would like us to spend them.

Challenge

Take 5 minutes every morning this week to pray over your calendar for the day. Ask God which things are most important, and ask Him to give you the clarity and strength to focus on only those things.